If the Cincinnati Bengals do nothing with Trey Hendrickson this offseason, he'll at least be under contract for one more year. All bets are off in that scenario when it comes to 2026.
There is a very real future in which the Bengals watch Hendrickson walk out the door next year and are left without much at the defensive end position. He did his best to carry the defense as an All-Pro this past year and it hardly mattered as the unit faltered in a disappointing 9-8 season.
Even in the timeline that has Hendrickson's contract extended by Cincinnati, the Bengals will need to give him some help for their renewed partnership. They won't be able to pair him with Abdul Carter, who's set to be a top-five pick in April's draft, but they may be able to get Carter's teammate next year. That's what our own Travis May cooked up in his way-too-early 2026 NFL mock draft.
Bengals pick Penn State EDGE Dani Dennis-Sutton 26th overall in 2026 NFL Mock Draft
A former five-star recruit by Rivals, Dennis-Sutton is coming off an impressive junior season for the Nittany Lions. He racked up 13 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles in 16 games (14 starts) opposite of Carter. Combine that with ideal size at the position, and he's got the profile of whom the Bengals would target in the draft.
"Dani Dennis-Sutton has prototype measurables at 6'5", 265 pounds. He's strong, long, and already as three straight seasons with solid marks in his key pass rush rate stats. And to top it all off he can drop out into coverage and make diving interceptions like in the post below. The Bengals need a better second edge defender opposite Trey Hendrickson so they lock DDS up here." - A to Z Sports' Travis May
Dennis-Sutton's upcoming senior year is going to be critical for his evaluation. How he fares without Carter garnering attention away from him will be a critical piece of nuance for NFL teams to consider.
If he does last 26 picks into the first round, odds are he'll have some warts in his profile. His Pro Football Focus pass rush win rate did drop from 22.6% as a freshman in 2022 down to 15.9% in his sophomore year in 2023. It continued to descend last year to 14.3%.
DDS is locked in for one more year in Happy Valley to solidify himself as a first-rounder. Should he change the trajectory he's on and make progress while exiting his college career, he'd become a fierce complement to the veteran Hendrickson to start and quite possibly take over as team's the top pass rusher in due time.
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